Mandi looked up at the boys, who were looking at Brittany. "How can they know who took her, so fast?" she asked. "They don't have any way of knowing."
Brittany shook her head, then turned to Mandi, again. "You're Tyler's best friend. You deserve to know who took her."
And the other two girls didn't? Oh, well, Mandi wasn't about to point that out. Brittany probably had her reasons for not telling them. So, she shouldn't argue, she guessed.
"Mandi, remember the series The Night World I always read?" Mandi nodded. "Well, um, it's real. Vampires, shapeshifters, witches, they all really exist, and walk among us."
Mandi shook her head, closing her eyes. "But-But that's impossible. You're crazy." she looked up, eyes hard.
Brittany sighed, and turned to Robin. "Would you do the honors?"
Robin nodded, and cupped Mandi's face in his hands, so she had no choice but to look at him. Mandi watched as his lips drew back from his teeth, and his canines grew long, sharp, and translucent. His yellow eyes turned to a yellowy-silver, and his lips got fuller and redder.
Mandi gasped, and realed back, covering her eyes. As she did so, she accidentally tripped over a sleeping bag, and fell over, landing on her butt right next to the closet.
"It's not true." she whispered, shaking her head. Her arm was still over her eyes, so she couldn't see her companions. "It's not true. It can't be true."
Brittany giggled, and pulled her hand away. Mandi found herself looking into her bright blue eyes, that at once, she had thought only a kitten could have.
"But it is true." Brittany said. "And, they know who took Tyler."
The two girls looked over at the boys, as Robin sighed, sitting down on Tyler's bed. Fern stared hard at Brittany before nodding.
"Yes, we do know who took her. It was one of us. One of our kind." he glanced hard at Mandi. "He's one of the most ruthless vampires there are. Though, why he would want Tyler, I'm not sure. There's no way he could know that Robin is her soulmate."
"He was at the pool." Roland whispered, causing everybody to look at him. "He saw me push that girl, over there-" he guestered to Mandi. "-in. He must've thought that we knew eachother. And..." he looked up. "he has a grudge against me."
"That's it!" Brittany gasped. "He must've thought he couldn't get to Mandi because me, her, April, and Karina were all huddled together on the floor."
"But Tyler was on the bed, alone." Mandi whispered. Her eyes grew wide. "Oh my god! It's all my fault!"
"Shh..." Brittany coaxed, rubbing her back. "We'll get her back." she looked hard up at them. "Do you know where he took her?"
Fern nodded, still looking at Brittany. "Us three will go find her. I want you two to stay here."
Brittany shook her head. "No, Fern. If you go into danger, you can bet your rats ass, I'm going with you. She's my friend, and my responsibility."
"Same goes for me." Mandi said in a voice that sounded more confident than she felt.
Fern sighed. "Okay, we'll leave tomorrow.
~NWNWNWNWNWNW~
Mandi ran out of her house late that night, before-she hoped-anyone noticed. She'd left a note to her parents telling them not to worry, that she'll be back within the week, ready to take whatever punishment was dealt out.
She was a little late, meeting the other four, at the front of the school. But nobody seemed surprised. They were standing next to a limo, a limo so big, and so shiny, there was no way it couldn't stand out.
"His hide out is at the top of a mountain in North Dakota." Fern had told them. "That's where we'll find Tyler."
There were two other people with them though. A girl with short blonde hair and purple eyes, and a boy with dark hair, and dark eyes.
"Mandi," Brittany said. "This is Gillian Lennox, and David Blackburn. They're gonna accompany us, on our little quest."
Mandi nodded, though she wouldn't quite call finding Tyler a quest.
"Get in." David said, opening the door.
Gillian and Brittany sat on either side of Mandi. Fern was next to Brittany, and Roland next to Fern. Robin rode up front with David who was at the wheel.
"Let's go." Robin whispered, and they were off. Leaving sanity, and the old world Mandi had known, behind.